by Tara Sue Me
food was. All Mariela could think about was whether Lennox would be there thirty minutes from when Fulton talked to her or from when he spoke to Fulton. Because she really didn’t know what time he’d called Fulton.
He could possibly be here any second!
“I’m sorry,” she said to the woman currently chewing her ear off about where she bought the Christmas tree. “I just remembered I’m supposed to meet someone.”
She didn’t wait for a reply, but nearly ran from the bathroom. She looked around the room for Fulton. She had to know what time he’d talked to Lennox.
Damn it. Why didn’t she see him? He couldn’t have gone that far. She spun around to look for him outside the ballroom and ran smack into someone’s chest.
A familiar pair of arms came around her at the same time she looked up and into the eyes she’d been fantasizing about the last few weeks.
“Where’s the fire?” Lennox asked, and his smile was so genuine, it made her ache with happiness.
And his lips. She needed his lips.
Not even bothering to answer his question, she snaked her arms around him and pulled him toward her. She wasn’t sure what came over her as she pressed her lips against his.
Lennox seemed momentarily taken aback, but it was mere seconds before his arms tightened around her. God, the feeling of being in his embrace again was the best feeling in the world. She held him to her tightly, never wanting to be parted from him again.
Lennox must have felt the same because it wasn’t until several nearby people discreetly coughed that he pulled away.
“Welcome home,” she said, once she managed to catch her breath. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” He dropped his head to whisper so no one other than her heard him say, “And later tonight I’ll show you exactly how much.”
Her heart raced. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
He took her hand. “But first we must be social.”
She groaned, but knew he was right and walked alongside him.
“The decorations are beautiful,” Lennox said, looking around the ballroom. “Not that I would have expected anything else.”
“Thanks, but you know, after a few years, you get it down pat pretty quickly.” She tilted her head, wondering if he’d made peace with his demons or if they still haunted him.
“What?” he asked. “What’s the look for?”
“How was your time away?” But that really wasn’t the question she wanted to ask.
“You mean have I found peace with myself and Winnie for what happened?” At her nod, he continued, “Yes, I think I finally have.”
She smiled. “I’m glad.” And she was. He could move on now. Maybe they both could.
“I went by her grave today,” he said. “And, for the first time, I didn’t walk away feeling guilty.”
He truly had found what he’d been searching for. She didn’t want to say she was glad again, so she simply nodded.
“I talked to her for a while. Explained a few things.” He got a faraway look in his eyes and they looked misty, but just for a second. “It’s funny. I had the strangest feeling she was standing there, that she was nearby. Watching and listening.”
The skin on the back of her neck tingled and she reached up to rub the sensitive spot.
“I bet she was,” she said.
“Makes sense.” He nodded. “That she would come by one last time when I was finally ready to say good-bye.”
“You really told her good-bye?” Something that felt a lot like hope started to swell within her chest. “For good?”
“Being away from everything helped me to realize I’m not dead and I need to stop acting like I am. And I realized how foolish I was in denying my Dom nature. Don’t you find it to be slightly ironic that I planned to end my relationship with Winnie because I couldn’t give up being a Dom and yet that’s exactly what I did when she died?”
“I’d say that’s a bit more than slightly ironic.”
He reached out a tentative hand and brushed her cheek. “It’s what you’ve been trying to tell me all along, isn’t it?”
She tried to concentrate on what he was saying, but it was too hard with the gentle way he touched her. The light stroke of his fingers against her skin brought to mind memories of the night they’d spent together in the cottage. Her body remembered his touch and longed for more of it. She felt herself lean into his hand.
“Oh, Marie,” he whispered. “Look at me.”
She lifted her eyes to capture his gaze and her heart nearly beat out of her chest. The look he had for her was so different than any expression she’d ever seen on his face before, even with Winnie. It was a look of determination, love, and promise, but more than that, it was a look of new beginnings.
He ran his thumb across her bottom lip. “Dance with me?”
She nodded mutely and allowed him to lead her into the main section of the ballroom. As they passed the guests, everyone grew quiet. Her cheeks heated.
Lennox bent down to whisper in her ear, “Sorry, looks like you’re the center of attention and I know you only like that when you’re naked.”
“That’s okay,” she whispered back. “The only other option is to strip down to nothing and I don’t think that would fit with the holiday-party spirit.”
He gave a low chuckle but didn’t speak again until they’d made it to the dance floor. She expected him to take her in his arms, but instead, he simply kept hold of her hand and turned to face her.
“You and I have worked together for how many years?” he asked.
She wrinkled her forehead, both because for one, she couldn’t remember exactly how long it’d been and two, for the life of her, she couldn’t fathom why he was asking her that now. “Umm, almost three years?”
“That’s what I thought. It doesn’t seem possible, but I don’t think we’ve ever danced together.”
They hadn’t. She couldn’t believe he hadn’t realized it sooner. “No, we haven’t. In fact, one of the things I remember from all our previous balls is how upset I’d get watching you dance with damn near every woman in the room, except me.”
“I was too afraid before,” he said.
“And you’re not anymore?”
Instead of answering, he swept her into his arms and began leading her around the room. There were a few other couples dancing, but Mariela felt as if every eye in the place was on them. Had she been able to tear herself away from Lennox’s gaze, she would have looked.
“We may not have danced before tonight, but you’re the only woman I’m dancing with tonight,” he said.
“That hardly seems fair to all the other women here.”
“Too bad.”
He pulled her close then and she wasn’t able to think about other women, the decorations, or who was watching. As they danced, everything around them disappeared into a low hum and, for those few precious moments, even the other people seemed to fade away until it was only the two of them and a thousand white lights.
He was an accomplished dancer; she knew as much from observing him in the past. Yet her observation fell far short of experiencing his hard body pressed against her. Or the way his hand settled along the small of her back as if it belonged there. It most certainly hadn’t left her with any indication of how it’d feel to have his warm breath tickling her ear.
“You’re like magic in my arms,” he said. “It’s as if I’ve never danced before.”
She almost told him he was being corny but decided not to. The newly exposed tender side was such an interesting contrast to his old self. She could put up with a bit of corniness if she had to.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Fulton and Andie take to the dance floor. No doubt they were hoping for a song to play for a swing dance. Andie caught her eye and gave her a not-so-subtle thumbs-up that made several people nearby laugh.
“Those two,” Lennox said, shaking his head. “They’re nothing but trouble.”
“Agreed,
” she said. “But it’s the good kind of trouble, so we’ll let it slide.”
He looked down at her, his voice serious, though his eyes were filled with laughter. “And what kind of trouble am I?”
Oh yes, she thought she could definitely get used to this new side of Lennox. She pretended to be thinking. “Mmm,” she hummed. “Depends.”
He pulled her to a stop and covered his heart with his hand. “Depends? Marie, you wound me.”
They were drawing the attention of the crowd again. Marie felt her face heat and she pulled him to her, trying to get him to dance again. “Stop it. Everyone’s looking at us.”
“You could get naked.” Lennox waggled his eyebrows.
Who was this man? After the night in the hotel, she’d tried to hope his easygoing nature would remain. She didn’t want to be disappointed again, even though that’s exactly what usually wound up happening. But now, she allowed that hope to bloom. He was actually smiling and teasing.
She pushed his chest. “You wish.”
“Damn straight.”
“You want to know what kind of trouble you are?” she asked. “The absolute worst kind.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“You’re also incorrigible.”
He didn’t say anything, but pulled her into his arms for another spin around the room. “Admit it,” he said while she tried to ignore all the stares they were getting. “You like me incorrigible.”
“Honestly.” She made sure he was looking at her before she continued. “I don’t know what to think about this side of you. I’ve never seen it before.”
He grew serious. “I think this is the real me. The me I was . . . before everything happened.”
She tilted her head. Was that true? She wasn’t sure she truly remembered a Lennox before Winnie. “Really?” she couldn’t help but ask.
“Yes. It’s just been so long.” He took a deep breath. “But I feel free finally. Normal.”
She had to admit, she really liked the return of the old him. “How do I know you’ll stay like this? That you won’t revert to the Lennox I’ve known all these years?”
“I can’t promise I won’t have days when the darkness comes back, but I think those days will be few and far between.” He smiled. “If I have you with me.”
Her heart began to pound. Was this really happening?
“Tell me I haven’t lost you, Marie.” He must have misread her silence. “I’m not going to live in the past anymore. There’s a part of me that still feels guilty over Winnie’s death, but I’m not going to let it rule my life for a second longer. And if I have you, I think with time, that part of me will slowly fade away into nothing.”
Yes. She felt her body warm with his words and the promise they represented. This was really happening. He must have seen the realization dawn in her eyes, because she saw hope begin to flicker in his expression.
“Tell me yes, Marie,” he begged. “Tell me I haven’t lost you. That you’ll be with me and stand by me as I rejoin the life of the living.”
Tears made her eyesight blurry. She reached up and brushed his cheek. “Yes,” she whispered. “A million times yes.”
“I love you,” he said.
“And I’ve always loved you.”
She didn’t notice they’d stopped dancing again until he leaned forward and kissed her soundly. She was further shocked by the applause that seemed to burst from the crowd as soon as his lips touched hers.
He held her tight, though, and wouldn’t let her pull away. He broke the kiss long enough to whisper against her lips, “Deal with the attention, just this once. Let them all be happy for us.”
“Only for you,” was all she got out before his lips were once more on hers for a long, deep kiss. She wondered if the people clapping had any idea what she and Lennox had gone through to get to this point.
When he let her go and she risked a look at the gathered crowd, there were several people in attendance who were wiping their eyes. They did. They knew. And they were celebrating with them.
Lennox noticed, too. He lowered his head. “I say we get out of here while we still can and answer questions later.”
And there would definitely be questions. She estimated they had about five minutes before the crowd descended upon them. How could there not be questions? The headmaster who had been alone for so long and the best friend of his dead girlfriend?
“I agree,” she whispered. “Let’s get out of here.”
It was almost too late. As they started off the dance floor, a subtle shift in the crowd seemed to drift toward them. But just before they were surrounded, someone tapped silverware on a glass.
“Ladies and gentlemen, if I may have your attention.” Fulton stood at the front of the room and gave them a wink. “RACK Academy has decided to start a new tradition this year. . . .”
“Now,” Lennox grabbed her hand, and they all but ran from the ballroom.
It wasn’t until they were outside and well on their way to his place that Mariela asked, “What new tradition?”
She’d been in charge of the ball for years and this was the first she’d heard about a new tradition. Lennox squeezed her hand. “A silent auction. To benefit the children’s home Fulton grew up in. It was his idea and he asked me a week or so ago.” He laughed. “I thought it was a good idea, but I’ll admit, I had no idea it’d be such a lifesaver.”
“I love it. What a perfect way to give back to the community. Kids at Christmas, there’s nothing better.” It was absolutely perfect.
“You don’t mind I didn’t bring it up to you first? I know the ball is yours to plan.”
They were almost to his door. “Not in the least. I like a good surprise every now and then. Besides, it offered us a chance to escape. I like it so much, I’m going to write a big check.”
He unlocked his door, but hesitated. “I want you to know, you’re the first woman I’ve ever brought here.”
She wasn’t sure why he felt the need to admit that, but for whatever reason, it seemed important to him. “Thank you for telling me.”
He opened the door and let her in first. She didn’t even take the time to look around, but turned and faced him instead. “Know what I want?”
His gaze turned predatory. “I certainly hope so. I hope it’s the same thing I want.”
“I want you. I want you to dominate me.”
“And here I thought I’d won you over to slow and easy.”
She slipped out of her coat. “Do you really want slow and easy?”
His eyes never left her body as she toed her shoes off. “Hell no. I want you under me and I want it hard and rough and long and dirty, and when we finish, I want to do it all again. I want to touch every inch of you and just when you think you can’t live without me inside your body for one more second, I want to thrust inside you so deep, you’ll think I’ve become a permanent part of you. I want to fuck you for hours, and when we’re exhausted and can’t move anymore, I want to pull you into my arms and hold you while we both fall asleep.”
A shiver ran through her at his words.
“How does that sound to you?” he asked.
“Like the best idea you’ve ever had, Sir.”
“In that case, there’s a black bag in the coat closet. Go get it and carry it into the bedroom and wait for me there.”
A black bag? Did that mean what she thought it did?
She gave him a quick, “Yes, Sir,” and hurried to the closet to retrieve the bag. It was heavy and confirmed what she hoped. At least, she thought it did.
She placed it just inside the door and took the few steps necessary to make it to the middle of the room. Dropping to her knees, she took a deep breath. Though it felt similar to when she’d knelt for him in the cottage, it was vastly different. This time, there were no more secrets between them. More importantly, there was no guilt.
He walked into the room and she actually felt giddy. After all they’d been through, fought through, and com
e to terms with, they were finally here.
“You look incredible, Marie,” Lennox said, a touch of awe and wonder in his voice.
Her chest swelled with pride. He wanted her and he thought she looked incredible. Though it was a natural reaction to thank him, she decided to do so with her actions and obedience instead of with